Nephilim Child
by victorianchic105
Summary: Max and Fang are 18. No flock. They meet the La Push wolves who agree to protect them...and their child. prequel to Seraphina's Song
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any max of fang. they are property of James Patterson. I do not own the Cullen's or the Werewolves, they are property of Stephenie Meyer. **

**Warning: this does involve violence and death. please, if you do not like it do not read it. I wrote this to try and improve my writing skill and to get this story out of my head before I went insane. Reviews and constructive criticism is welcome.**

The Nephilim Child

It was raining when they found us. Or was it sunny? I can't remember. It doesn't matter really, we were in the middle of a forest and the trees were so high and full that they covered the sky. The sky that I loved so much.

I do know that the hand I held was strong and warm. That the hand belonged to my soul existence in this harsh world. He was determined to find some kind of civilization for us to return to, but we had been wandering in this forest for seven days now and the only living creatures we had found were the rabbits we cooked for food.

He refused to leave me for any amount of time alone. It grated my pride just a bit but I couldn't dissuade him. Of course he was right though. I couldn't risk fighting, I couldn't run anywhere for very long, and I couldn't carry myself into the air. I was too heavy and unbalanced. My wings couldn't take the strain.

But if we didn't get out of these woods soon, things were bound to get messy. I would give birth to my child within the next two weeks and I didn't want to have any wolves, bears, or mountain lions catching the smell of blood.

"Fang, stop a sec." I said breathlessly. Oh, how I hated being weak, but it wasn't just me I had to take care of now.

Dark eyes caught mine before doing a quick sweep over my body.

"Tired?" he asked, his voice soft.

I loved his voice. Deep and somber as it was. Like listening to the rolling thunder and yet the swiftest rushing river all at the same time. I didn't get to hear it often. Fang didn't talk unless he had too and then it was only three words at a time.

I leaned against one of the thousands of trees surrounding us and let out a sigh of relief as I closed my eyes.

"Just my back again." I told him quickly, instead of having him try to pry the words of weakness out of me.

I could feel my rapid heart beat against my chest and tried to take deep breaths while listening to my surroundings. It was habit to always be aware of what was going on around us. We hadn't been attacked in six weeks and the bruises had finally healed. We were sure we had lost them this time. Not to mention ourselves.

I felt the shift of air in front of me before I felt the tips of his fingers on my face. Tracing my eyelids, my nose, my cheeks, my lips. He brushed my hair from my face and neck. Then resumed skimming his fingers along my jaw and throat. My breath caught hopelessly in my chest.

"Your not helping my breathing situation." I said half-heartedly. We both knew I relaxed better when he touched me.

He hummed non-commitally, moving closer. The snap of a branch made us freeze, our muscles locking together in a familiar sensation. We locked eyes, both of us reading the same frantic dread.

"Run" he breathed.

I lunged away from him and started running back the way we had come. When I mentioned that I couldn't run far, it didn't mean that I couldn't run fast. And I was, fast I mean. The trees were a blur as I loped my way through the trunks and roots. I could sense my Protector behind me, keeping between me and the danger we both felt.

I could hear it now. The danger. Running behind us on four legs, the paws making soft thuds as they closed in. And now they were coming from either side of us too. So, more than one, again. We were surrounded.

I skidded to a stop and went back-to-back like we had done a million times before when fighting for our lives. There wasn't enough light to see them at first, even with our raptor vision, just shadows emerging from the forest like wraiths come to take us back to hell. And that's where we would go. To our own specially crafted hell.

They were larger and bulkier than I remembered. More natural looking than the monster movie horrors we were used to. Graceful too. But the menace was still there. I could hear the growling and teeth grinding together. There were five of them, which was strange, since they usually sent dozens to take us on. And they didn't attack at first like they usually did.

I stayed in a fighting stance while remaining completely still, only flicking my eyes back and forth. All discomfort I had felt moments ago had washed away in fear. If I was tackled to the ground I could land on my stomach, killing or damaging my baby. This was the first time I had ever felt afraid for myself in a fight and it upset me more than anything else could. I was usually the first one to throw a punch and the last.

He was as still as stone behind me and yet I could feel the tension in his back. Not to mention the coiled animal ready to spring at a moments notice. He was lethal when it came to any danger directed at me and it made my stomach tingle in response, even with the situation we were in. He loved me.

I realized the growling had stopped and that a curious but wary stance had taken over the pack surrounding us. They shifted towards the largest one of them. A black wolf as large as a horse and as muscled as a bull. Or, at least, that's what it seemed like. He stepped forward and Fang angled himself subtly in front of me, so that half his body shielded me from the leader, for that was surely who the black wolf was. He also growled low in his throat, warning the wolf leader not to come further. This pack was different and we both knew it the second they hadn't attacked. We just had to figure out if they were a danger to us.

The leader stepped back into the shadows and I could see his outline shudder and then fold into itself. He was transforming back. The figure stood up and quickly pulled something on before striding boldly back into the lighted patch where we stood. His features surprised me, more than seeing a wolf turn back into a man. He was beautiful, but not with the perfect plastic beauty of the ones who hunted us. It confused me even more. What was going on?

"I am Sam Uley of the Quileute tribe and this is my pack and _my_ territory. We are the Protectors of this land and the lands surrounding us. One of us sensed you were not human during his patrol and yet you have a heartbeat. What are you?"

For my entire eighteen years in this world, I trusted implicitly my instincts and those of the one I loved. They've saved us more than a dozen times before. And now, when surrounded by what seemed like the very creatures we loathed, I could only sense truth being spoken. I wasn't _entirely_ convinced, I wouldn't be alive today if I wasn't still cautious, but the gut wrenching terror had subsided.

I straightened, as Fang did the same, and looked him in the eye before taking a step forward, bringing myself from behind him and facing the leader. I saw the leader's eyes widen slightly that I would be the one to speak, but other than that he remained poised.

I, too, was a leader and yet after years of being a smartass and trying to annoy our evil captors my old self kicked in and I couldn't help what came out of my mouth.

"Kinda rude to put yourself in the human category while attacking us don't you think? Or is the turning into a wolf trick just an illusion?"

The words came out with a sort of warmth that surprised even me, though I didn't show it. Perhaps I sensed some kindred souls trying to figure the whole freak issue out too. They didn't seem like they knew too much about taking care of strange intruders.

The wolf leader, Sam, raised an eyebrow before giving in to a small smile as he studied us.

"I apologize then. The only non-human creatures besides ourselves that we've ever encountered have been vampires and they are, technically, not alive," he informed us casually.

I stared at him to see if he was joking and then shifted so I could turn my head sideways and direct my words to Fang without taking my eyes off Sam.

"Vampires, that's a first."

"Can you imagine?" he muttered back.

I shuddered a bit in response. If the School succeeded in _that_ experiment…I couldn't imagine what would become of us once they were unleashed.

"You're not shocked at our appearance or the mention of vampires?" Sam asked, curious.

I spoke slowly and matter of factly.

"We've never met a vampire, but monsters are not new to us. Neither are men who can turn into wolves. But their different from you. They were genetically created in labs in order to be a sort of guard hound at this place where we grew up. They kept other experiments from escaping. Or tried to at least." I said the last part as an afterthought and it seemed to confuse him.

"And where does that leave you?"

Now it was my turn to study him. He had said they were Protectors, that would make them good right? I shifted slightly to get Fang's reaction of the situation and was surprised when he spoke softly, while staring at the ones still in wolf form.

"Our instincts have never failed us, Max. The ones deep down I mean. Our intuition." He paused before looking me in the eye, "It's your call. I'll follow you anywhere."

I kept his gaze in our own silent communication and slowly nodded, turning my attention back to Sam. Fang trusted me, that was good enough.

Again I spoke slowly, although this time with a bit more caution. I had kept myself a secret for so long, it was difficult to finally open up.

"We are the only surviving successful experiments left created by the School. Our genes were mixed with avian DNA. We grew up in cages. We grew up tortured. We grew up angry and mistrustful to the world around us. Until we escaped when we were ten. They've hunted us ever since. They're hunting us now. We'll leave and never come back if you let us go."

I stopped there. It was all he needed to know in order to make a decision. Whether that decision was to kill us or let us go. And he never glanced away from my eyes. He just kept looking deeper and deeper and I stared right back, bearing the truth of my words for him to see.

His answer came after two very long minutes, but I liked him instantly for the way he handled it.

"Our pack is larger than what you see here and any member of our tribe will be more than willing to protect you from those who seek to harm you. Under my word the elders will grant you our tribes' protection if you wish for it," he paused, then added more quietly, "the Cullen's will also add their strength and vigilance to ours. They _are_ vampires, but do not wish any harm on humans. They only prey on animals and under mutual respect they are our allies."

"Those who hunt us won't hesitate to kill anyone who stands in their way." I warned him, not worrying about the detail of vampires or a whole tribes' protection. He needed to know the risks in order to fully understand what he was getting into.

He pulled his lips back to reveal teeth sharper than a humans should have been and growled, "We won't falter."

Undaunted by his display I smiled. It seemed we now had an army. That's a first, I thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I decided three days later that I loved Washington. Once you got past the wetness of it all, it wasn't so bad. With a proper bed in the Uley's household the rain had provided a nice lullaby to fall asleep to. With strong arms wrapped around me I no longer had the trouble I normally did trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in either. The baby liked to kick, all the time!

Emily, who I decided must be a goddess among us lesser mortals, had chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven nearly all day. She had found my weakness to them when we first arrived after the meeting with the tribe elders. Sam had opened the door for us and the smell carried me in straight to the kitchen. I hadn't realized the grin on my face until Fang gave a chuckle from behind me.

She hadn't seemed surprised at taking in two strangers or at the news of us being genetic mutants. What she did freak out over was the fact that I was pregnant. She didn't show it at first, but later the first day she caught me alone while Fang and Sam were outside. She was busy baking more cookies and I was standing on the other side of the kitchen eating the ones that had just come out. She had turned around suddenly as if forcing herself to say something.

"Max? Are you sure you know the consequences of what you've done?" She looked kinda of disturbed, which only confused me.

"What do you mean?" I asked warily. Did she not like the fact we were taking the wolves she loved and putting them in danger?

"Your so young and you have an entire life ahead of you. Why would you have a baby and ruin that?"

Realization hit me after taking a second to study her and the meaning behind it. I gave her a sad but warm smile. It was sound advice for anyone other than me.

"Emily…I…" deep breath, "My _life _is standing out in the rain helping your fiancée fix the car. In this world, the world you live in, I don't exist. I don't have a birth certificate or a social security number. I grew up in a cage in the middle of nowhere by a secret and underground evil scientist convention. Whatever normalcy I could have ever had was gone the second I was stolen from my parents."

I wasn't railing at her and I wasn't trying to make her pity me but she needed to understand where I was coming from.

"School's out of the question. It's too public and if they found us they wouldn't hesitate in hurting those around us. Innocent people could get killed. Besides, we're kind of geniuses. In the four years we had to ourselves after we escaped we taught ourselves everything we could get our hands on. Stole books from the libraries or schools around us. Watched the news and movies to learn about people. Fang loved math and science the most. I think it helped him to understand himself better. Before, we had thought we were freaks that didn't deserve to live. That changed pretty quickly._ I_ loved languages. I can speak six fluently right now. I want to learn Egyptian next. So I can read the hieroglyphs."

There was a look of disbelief on her face and I couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"So you see, we only need each other to get through this life. A place to stay is hard to find when you don't have any money. We can't buy food, or clothes, or any luxuries but we don't need much. Well…except the food part." And I took another bite from the warm cookie in my hand.

She contemplated what I said for a moment before adding under her breath, "Well, that's going to change now that you have us."

I didn't know what she meant by that and the conversation seemed to have ended. I do know that it gave me a warm feeling in my heart that she seemed to care about us. I felt a kick against my stomach and rested my hand lightly there. For the first time, everything seemed to be alright.

We met the Cullen's and the rest of the Pack the next day at the request of Sam. He said we should tell our story all at once so that everyone would be on the same page. Fang and I agreed, although warily. It wasn't that we didn't trust them, which was strange because we rarely trusted anyone, but we weren't used to having such a large number with their focus on us. It made me jumpy.

"Relax, love, I'll be right there with you." The voice was soft and low but full of promise that I couldn't help but let all my nerves wash away under the current of his voice.

The clearing was three football fields long and nearly as wide. The pack stayed close to the trees in wolf form while eight pale figures stood in a line out in the open. The walk had been a long one and my back had started to hurt once again. It took most of my attention, so I let Fang do most of the talking once the introductions had passed.

The Cullen's were just as curious about us as the wolves were. We hadn't fully told the Pack everything about us yet and so it was a first for them too. They all immediately took the situation to protect us quickly enough when Fang had finished and the conversation soon revolved more around our abilities than on strategy. It seemed they had done this sort of thing before. A conclusion I came to as most glances kept returning to the brunette vampire, Bella.

Carlisle and Edward were the most interested of anyone there. Since they had more than their share of doctors degrees. But they were also outraged that anyone would do this sort of thing to a human being.

"To experiment on them against there will is _barbaric_!" Carlisle looked ready to run off in search of the 'barbarians' and give them a piece of his mind. Or just tear them apart. I couldn't decide. Whichever, his anger was shocking to the rest.

Fang turned his attention to me with such a look of relief and happiness all of a sudden, that I forgot the discomfort in my back for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked quickly.

"He's a doctor."

That's it. Three words! I was going to shake him. It seemed my hormones would be his downfall. Everyone knew Carlisle was a doctor. That's why they introduced him as Dr. Carlisle--And then I got it.

"Carlisle, have you ever delivered a baby before?" Edward asked. I think he caught on a bit too quickly considering I hadn't said anything, but brushed that aside as everyone stopped and stared at me and then Carlisle.

"Of course," he had caught on too, "I would be honored to help you, Max. I could even perform a checkup on your condition just to make sure everything is perfectly fine and healthy if you'd like."

Yes, I thought, everything was going to be okay. We were protected, had a place to stay with our own personal cook, and a doctor to help deliver my baby. A thing I had placed so much worry on, it was a relief to finally feel taken care of, even if they were vampires and werewolves.

**Fang Pov**

Five days had passed since Max and I had arrived on Quileute land. And it was on that fifth day that my life changed forever.

Carlisle was going to perform the checkup for Max today, who was still asleep in the guest bedroom. Her hair spread out across the pillows around her. The quilt wrapped around her like a cocoon. Just looking at her you would never know that she carried something precious. It took my breath away just thinking about it. I think we both needed this little miracle after everything we had been through.

The house was warm and already filled with the smell of Max's favorite cookies as I made my way to the kitchen. I noticed the clock on the stove and wondered what could get me up at 6:30 in the morning when I had a comfortable bed and Max to sleep next too.

"Good morning, Fang. You're up early." Emily kept her voice low, not wanting to wake up Max or Sam. With both of their sharp hearing it's a wonder they could sleep through the constant rainfall, at all.

"Early bird gets the prize." I told her.

Her face broke into a smile at my attempt at humor and I couldn't help the sudden pang of shock I felt at seeing only one side of her face move into a beautiful smile while the other half stayed torn and broken. I still couldn't get used to it. Max and I had had our fair share of scars but they had always healed.

"What would you like for breakfast today?" she asked sweetly. Just like any mother would have.

"You know we'd eat anything you'd put in front of us."

"Yes, I know. But what do you _want_?" She kept her voice kind but there was still an underlying desperation to her eyes. She couldn't understand why Max and I didn't put desire to things normal kids would jump at the chance to voice.

"It's best not to want anything, Emily." Sad but true, I thought. The second we started to want normal things in life, like eggs every morning for breakfast, was the day they'd break us.

"You want Max, don't you? You want her happy, you want that child happy, don't you?" Now, I could hear the frustration.

"And those are the things that I'd kill or die fighting for." I told her simply. The only things worth wanting were the only things worth fighting for, I had learned.

A sharp voice came from the entryway of the kitchen.

"The second you die, I die." Max stood, beautiful and graceful as ever in the blue dress she wore to bed last night, looking like she would take on a dozen Erasers for posing a threat to the delicate balance between my life and theirs.

I was caught up in the humor of seeing Max, the indestructible fighter Max, in a dress, that I didn't catch the importance of her stumbling and catching the counter for support as she made a little 'oh' sound while clutching her abdomen.

She looked at me then and I saw the shock in her eyes before Emily broke the frozen moment between us.

"SAM," she screamed, "Max, why don't you go lie down on the couch. Fang, get some sheets from the closet."

She sounded like a drill sergeant and I couldn't help jumping up and going for the closet down the hall.

I heard a bang as Sam crashed into the floor before the door down the hall burst open and he came running into the kitchen, looking like he'd rip apart whoever made Emily scream like that. Max had already lied down and I shoved my way past him to get the sheets Emily had ordered for.

"Sam, run to the Cullen's house and get Carlisle, I think it's time."

His eyes went wide for a moment before flicking towards Max and back to Emily and then he was out the back door and transformed before I could place myself next to Max and take her hand, the sheets forgotten on the floor.

"Fang." A whisper from her lips.

"I'm right here." Whatever she needed I'd get for her.

A pause and then, "Start thinking of names."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Violet eyes. She had violet eyes. Ten little fingers. Ten little toes. And the softest tuft of black hair. And she would have wings, thank heaven!

Seraphina Amber Ride.

The genetic mix could have made it possible that she would be completely human and yet the protruding bumps on her small back told us that she would fly right next to us above the clouds.

At the moment she was asleep, cuddled in the soft pink baby blanket Esme had made when they had all found out five hours after that first contraction. I rocked her back and forth unable to take my eyes off her. She was the most wonderful creature, apart from Max, that I had ever laid eyes on.

Speaking of Max, she was currently asleep too. Exhausted from giving birth, she had stayed awake long enough to hold Sera and eat something and then Carlisle ordered her to rest. An order I had to reinforce when she stubbornly refused to let go of the child she had carried for five months.

Yes, only five months. It must have been the avian mix in us but I wasn't going to dwell on the scientific facts. They didn't matter. Only the alive and healthy daughter in my arms mattered.

I grinned and thought of the life she would have here. We'd have a house, thanks to the Cullen's, in the middle of the forest. Close enough to both of our new families that we'd never be alone and yet we'd still have our own little world to raise her in.

I couldn't wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Nephilim Child continued

"Mam! Mam!"

Little feet scampered across the wooden back porch.

"Mammi!"

The sliding glass door slammed open and the excited wide eyed child came dashing in.

"What is it, Chickaree?" Her mother's warm voice asked.

The little girl jumped into her mother's arms to whisper in her ear. Although, it was loud enough for her father to hear her across the kitchen. Even with his hawk-like hearing.

"There's a wolf in our backyard." The little girl stated very seriously.

She was wearing her favorite white dress, with her long black hair reaching to the middle of her back. She was barefoot, again, the flower anklet Aunty Alice made for her last week still jangled with the small bells woven in with the stems.

"Really, was it the big bad wolf?" her mother asked, humor deep in her eyes.

The little girl gasped, "He's come to blow down our house!"

She squirmed her way out of her mother's arms and ran to close the door before the much larger figure appeared on the other side looking in. She giggled then, unable to pretend any longer as Seth stood outside, grinning down at the mischievous child before looking to Max and miming a phone to his ear.

Max walked over to let him in as little Seraphina squealed before running off to hide. She was a force of nature unto herself. Always laughing as she flitted from one place to the next. There really was nothing anyone could do but join in.

"Hello, Seth, what's brings you to our lovely home?" Max asked as she went back to helping Fang, who was now officially her husband thanks to Carlisle, finish dinner.

"Was out patrolling north when I caught something strange on the wind. Took the opportunity to stop by and see Sera while I used your phone to call it in to Sam."

"Sure, want to stay for dinner too?" Max knew he wouldn't have just stopped by to use the phone, although the excuse to see Sera was all too believable. Everyone loved her.

Seth laughed, knowing all to well that he wasn't any good at fooling these two. They knew anything the Pack thought strange would lead to double protection. "If you don't mind the extra mouth to feed," he said, still smiling.

"Not at all. We're making Sera's favorite, green bean casserole, yams, and chicken fingers," she said with a wry smile, the dish _was_ a bit eclectic.

"Here's the phone, Seth." Fang chimed in, as he held the phone out after fishing it from the couch cushions where Sera had hidden it, yet again.

"Thanks." Seth dialed as he went in search of the little munchkin, keeping an eye out for an aerial attack. They had been playing games with each other since she could crawl and stealth was always a must if you wanted to play seriously.

"Sam? Hey, caught a strange scent about an hour north. It started to head this direction before veering east again. Yea, I'm at the Ride's now, I'll keep and eye on 'em. Later."

He hung up the phone and had barely set it down before a yell came from above him, "GERONIMO!"

Seth looked up just in time to see little Sera jump from the second floor landing.

"Oof! You little munchkin. Quit jumping from there onto my head. One of these days you're going to miss."

"I'm not worried. You'll catch me." She said, her wind chime voice so full of trust.

"Yes, I'll always catch you, little Chickaree. Now come on, your mom and dad have made you your favorite dinner I hear and I've been invited to eat it all," Seth ended in a haughty tone.

"Nuh uh. I get to eat too." Sera's face scrunched up into a pout and she folded her arms across her chest. The image of her looking so out of character as the carefree child set Seth into uproarious laughter.

Max and Fang grinned at the two as Seth sat Sera in her chair and took a seat beside her, still chuckling due to the new glare he was getting from the little nymph beside him.

"Sera don't glare at him. If you're going to do anything smack him upside the head." Max informed her.

Seth looked astonished at Max. "What kind of advice is that to give to a kid?"

"Good advice." Max said, smiling mischeviously.

Sera decided to giggle hysterically instead of smacking him.

"Mam says that we must stick up for ourselves and those we love no matter what," She informed Seth, "In this case, I love you, but I must stick up for myself and stop you from laughing at me."

She sounded so much older than her two years at that moment but it was to be expected. The daughter of two genetic superior beings was bound to learn faster than a normal child.

Seth looked down at her, "That's true, but violence doesn't always have to be the answer. I think in your mother's case it should be, but it doesn't have to be for you. You can choose to be whatever you want to be. Even if you choose to be bad or good, know that it was your choice and live with the consequences….or rewards."

Sera didn't know it then, but what Seth said to her that night would reverberate through her head for the next sixteen years of her life like a mantra. She always had a choice.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was two o'clock in the morning and the strange scent Seth had caught had gotten closer to the little piece of safety Max and Fang had ever known. The Pack and the Cullens were getting restless. None of them, not even Carlisle, knew what it was and Alice couldn't see anything coming when the wolves were involved in the outcome.

"If it's not a vampire or a wolf then what could it be?" Emmett asked, after the entire clan had decided to call a meeting.

"Max and Fang smell different from anything we've ever noticed before. Our best probability is another experiment." Esme commented quietly.

"It's been three weeks and the scent's still there," Seth announced, agitated that they were unable to find the source of the scent that had been plaguing them to the north.

"What do you suppose we do, Seth? Lift our hands to the sky and shout 'go away'?!" Paul was in one of his tempers tonight and Seth's agitation was making him jumpy, too.

"Enough, Paul, we don't need this tonight. Whatever it is, it won't be going away without a shove in the right direction. I say we lead teams through the forest from all sides and pin it between us," Sam proposed, finally throwing an idea into the mix of chatter among them.

"I agree," Emmett, of course, "let's corner it and then kill it!"

"It may be a creature of innocence, Emmett. Let's not throw any punches before we're sure," Carlisle chastised.

"Sam's right about the first part. The strategic opportunity is to our advantage," Jasper advised quietly. Alice held his hand looking frustrated with the lack of future outcomes she was not seeing.

"Can it be agreed among us that our best opportunity is to confront whatever may be out there before it confronts us?" Carlisle addressed to the entire group among the clearing.

No one stepped forward in disagreement or protest. After a moment, Fang stepped forward, "I'm coming with you. If it is an experiment, than I can deal with it without exposing either of your families. Max can keep Sera inside the house or take her into town until we return."

"Very well, we shall start now unless prior arrangements need to be made?" Carlisle once again addressed the group and again no one spoke against him.

Fang turned to Max and gave her a kiss while skimming his fingers down her cheek.

"Will you be alright with Sera alone for the day?" He asked softly, wondering if she was annoyed at him for speaking up and joining the search without asking her.

She just smiled warmly and replied slightly sarcastic, "I think I can handle our two year old daughter by myself. I'm just as wild as she is when it comes to having some fun."

Fang had to laugh at that. It was true, the first time they all played hide-and-go-seek with their daughter, Max had been giggling and crawling around as much as the little girl had. Both ending up covered in dirt and grass stains. The memory made him grin.

"I'll see you tonight then, love, try not to ruin all of your clothes." And he jogged off before Max could smack the back of his head as she so often did when he teased her.

"Be careful!" She called to his back. She had a sudden premonition that it would be the last time she would ever see him. It was absurd, though. He had a coven of vampires and a pack of werewolves with him. He would be fine.

**Max Pov**

"Mam, where's Papa?" my daughter, as young as she was, noticed so much. We had only been up for a couple of hours and was currently cleaning the living room of our board game. Which had somehow ended up all over the place.

"He's out with your aunts and uncles trying to keep all the bad men away from our house." I told her softly. I knew Fang thought I would have wanted to be the one on the forefront but ever since Sera was born I always wanted to be the one standing in front of her. Or beside her, if the occasion called for it.

We had all decided that the best defensive was to take the offensive stance. The Pack, the Cullens, and Fang we out combing the forest in teams pushing farther and farther away.

The Pack had confirmed that the strange scent didn't have time to work its way around us or toward the coast and they were hoping to catch whatever it was deep in the forest before it got too close.

"The bad men who chased you and Papa here?" Sera asked curiously. She was hoping to get a story out of me, I could tell.

"Maybe…I don't know. It could be something that has nothing to do with us." I said to her. Although the evident desperation must have been crystal clear even to her young ears.

"Not likely." A deep, rough, voice said from behind me.

I swiveled around, throwing Sera protectively behind me and came face to face with the one thing I had wished never to see again, much less so close to the precious child behind me.

He was massive, bulky, and muscular. I was used to the lanky Erasers from when I was younger. This guy made them look like pups.

I knew he had wolf DNA in him. His too wide smile with his pointed teeth and animalistic eyes told me what I feared. It took me a second to size him up and realize I wouldn't be able to take him while protecting my daughter at the same time.

"Who are you?" I asked him, venom dripping from my voice. He was in my house near _my_ daughter. I was going to rip him to shreds!

"I'm the one who's going to take your daughter and leave you for dead. But you can call me Zachary, it's shorter," His voice was menacingly playful.

I kept my eyes on him while maintaining a fighting stance. How did he get past everyone?

"Sera, do you remember what I told you about the sun?" I asked smoothly as Zachary's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Mam," her voice was small and scared. It made me angrier that the mere sight of this monster could make her so afraid. Then again, she had never had to face terror before.

"It's time for the sun to set, now." It was code. Run, hide, don't come out. We had taught her that much.

She took off running faster than I had ever seen her run before. Around the couch, out the door, and she was gone.

Zachary lunged at her the second she had moved but I launched myself, hitting him in the stomach just like any professional linebacker would and threw him back. I scrambled up fast, grabbing the fire poker and started using it like a rod to keep his claws and teeth away. For someone who was built like a tank he could maneuver well.

He had transformed enough to keep his legs human while his hands turned to claws and his face turned into a deadly muzzle. He growled and lunged again, ignoring the point that I stabbed through his arm while twisting down and under him, launching myself through the door and down the hall. I heard him slam into the wall behind me but kept myself from turning. I needed to get outside where I could fight and use my wings.

The back door was closed and for a split second I saw my reflection and that of the monster behind me lunging. I dropped the second before he reached me. Glass shattered and wood splintered as he crashed through the door and onto the deck.

I leapt up and out, going for the shed. I never liked using weapons but Fang had always kept a couple of guns and knives ever since we settled down. Just in case, he had said.

I never made it. Another Eraser landed in front of me, blocking my path to the shed. I did a quick roundhouse kick to his face without stopping and then proceeded to crush his windpipe while his head was back. The wolf crumpled to the ground on all fours and I used his back to launch myself over him.

So, Zachary wasn't alone, I thought. How many are waiting their turn to strike? And what about Sera?

I heard ragged breathing behind me and dove to the side before turning to face Zachary again. His face was shredded from the glass he ran face first into and blood dripped in thin rivers down his wolf-like face.

His eyes were black and wild. He was going to kill me. I knew that by the hungry and hatred filled gaze as he finished his transformation and stood crouched ready to lunge. I just had to make sure to take him with me. It was the least I could do for my daughter.

**Seraphina's Pov**

Mam, had told me to hide, so I went to the bestest hiding place in the world.

Papa made it for me. A tree had started to grow its branches right over our house and the leaves covered the roof right by the chimney. Papa made a little fort painted to look just like the house right under the branch. Nobody knew about it except for me and Papa and I could see the whole backyard from inside.

I always used it to spy on Seth when he came to watch me. He got close once, but I made sure to jump to the ground and make a run for it before he found my fort.

I crawled up into it from my room which was below this part of the roof where my secret door was and quietly locked it shut before peering through my window.

Mam was down there fighting one of the bad men. I had never seen her fight before or look so mean. She wasn't hurt yet, but there were too many and they were so big. The one in front was the same man from inside our home. He should probably have grabbed us before speaking if he actually wanted to win, but I figured the bad guys weren't that smart.

Two more bad men had come out of the woods behind Mam and were creeping up behind her. She didn't know they were there?! I closed my eyes and screamed in my head just like Papa had taught me. Mam didn't know I could do this but I could speak without talking. It was the only other secret I had besides my fort.

I screamed loud and far for Papa to come and help Mam. He was strong. He would save her.

**Fang's Pov**

Jasper and I were working our way through the western part of the forest closer to the coast. So far, he hadn't caught any scent and there was no sign of a trail. We had been searching for three hours.

I thought of Max and Sera back at the house and couldn't help the feeling that I needed to get back there. I shook it off. I hadn't been away from Max since Sera was born. We went everywhere together. There was no need not to. Besides we were like two halves that made a whole. I don't think I would be able to function without her, which was probably why I couldn't concentrate on finding anything that would lead us to the intruder.

Jasper looked at me with a small knowing smile. He knew how I felt and not just because he was an empath.

I suddenly grabbed my head as a splitting scream resonated inside, a moment before Sera's voice cried out, _Papa_!

I was on my knees when the scream left as abruptly as it came and I saw Jasper in the same position. She hadn't controlled who heard it and so everyone must have. It didn't matter. I took off into the air without waiting and sped home.

Three hours searching meant we were all at least ten miles out. I flapped my wings harder, begging my wings to carry me faster.

**Max's Pov**

Sera's scream had sounded in my head leaving me shocked, but I recovered quickly, seeing as how it had confused Zachery too. I made my move.

I flapped my wings hard bringing my feet level with his head and used the power of my launch to kick him as hard as I could. He jerked back, his feet coming out from under him and he landed with a thud.

The force of my kick twisted me around and I finally noticed the two behind me. I couldn't react before the closest knocked into me, bringing me to the ground and knocking the breath out of me.

I lay stunned for a moment before bringing my knees up and shoving him off, rolling to the side and getting back into a stance in which I could hit or dodge quickly. I kept my wings spread to help my balance and took in my new situation.

Zachery was currently out. One Eraser lay crouched to my left, the other to my right. Both started to circle in opposite directions so that I couldn't keep my eyes on them both. I quickly moved in on the one to my left and gave a calculated kick to his leg, blowing out his knee. He fell forward and I jumped over him putting him between me and the second Eraser.

I realized too late that I had my back to Zachery even if I had believed him to be unconscious. I felt the cold slice of his claws ripping along my back before twisting around stumbling backwards.

The gashes on my back stung and I could feel one of my wings and gotten sliced too. The pain on my back didn't last long before a new pain registered. Zachery had stood up, mostly human again, and had grabbed my throat with one of his hands.

His claws were just sharp enough to bury themselves in my throat and he used his grip to pick me off the ground. I couldn't get loose without tearing my throat out and he knew it.

He chuckled before calling in a loud voice, "Little bird, I've got your mother here. I'm sure she'd like to see you one last time."

I tried to talk but only a strangled sound made it through. _No Sera_, I thought desperately, _don't come out_.

But she had, I could see her small profile land on the ground by the broken back door. Her feet landing on glass but she didn't wince. I don't think she even knew.

"Let her go!" her voice broke and I realized she was sobbing. My heart tore at what she must be seeing. Her mother bleeding and hurt by the bad guys we had told her all about. And there was nothing she could do about it.

I fought harder against Zachery's hold. He just tightened his grip until I saw dots start to dance before my eyes. Sound too was starting to seem muffled. Like everything was underwater.

"Let her go let her go let her go let her go let her go, LET HER GO!" And then everything exploded.

**Sera's Pov**

I didn't mean to lose control. It just happened. The bad man was holding Mam and he wouldn't listen to me. She was hurt and he wasn't letting her go. He just had to let her go and she'd be okay. He smiled and that's when it happened.

The explosion in my head happened outside too. This time, when I screamed, something inside me broke and everything around me shattered. The bad men were blown back with Mam. Glass from the ground in front of me blew forward and I shielded my face from the wind I felt, hoping the glass didn't come with it.

And then it stopped and I saw spots. I fell over and lay on the ground for awhile before the spots went away and I could finally run to Mam. But she didn't move. So I waited for Papa. He would help her. He always made her feel better.

**Fang's Pov**

I knew I was too late. The world felt different. Or maybe I was different. I felt like I was going to wake up and find that I never had wings and it was all a lie. That Max and Sera were all a cruel dream concocted my some scientists in a lab.

I could see the top of our house and I pushed myself to fly faster. I came in from the front and landed in the yard where nothing looked out of the ordinary.

"Sera! Max!" I screamed, my voice sounding slightly hysterical. I was still hoping they were all right and I was just over reacting.

I crashed through the front door looking around wildly, only noticing the fire poker in the middle of the floor looking out of place. I screamed their names again while running towards the back. Nothing wrong in the kitchen.

_Their not in the house or they would have said something by now_.

I turned around to go out back and saw the glass door was shattered. My heart was thumping way too hard, "Sera?!"

I jumped through and took in what should have been the backyard. It looked like a bomb had gone off, without the burning cinders. I saw three bodies covered in fur lying lifeless and scattered across the dirt but I ignored them as soon as I saw Sera's little body sitting on the ground next to Max.

She turned to look at me and relief flooded through me at her expression. She looked so calm and innocent. But her words sent frozen shocks down my spine, "Mam isn't waking up."

I walked around her and saw for the first time what had happened to Max. She looked perfectly fine, like she had just lain down to look at the clouds. If it wasn't for the fact her throat was shredded and blood had seeped all over her and the ground.

And there was Sera, holding her hand like she would wake up any second, "Can you wake her up Papa?"

The horror of it sent me to my knees. Max, my Max, my beautiful and strong Max was dead. I vaguely noticed the strangled cry that came from me as I gripped her shoulders and pulled her to me.

"No no no no no"

_No no no no no_

"Max wake up, please wake up. You can't leave me, not like this. Never like this. I'm sorry, so so sorry. Wake up!" I cried over and over and over again. Like my words and pleas could heal her…make time stop…make this day never happen.

"BRING. HER. BACK. TO ME!" I roared at the sky. But nothing happened and she was still dead.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seth was the first to arrive, being the closest to the house than the others. He took one look at Max dead, Sera so close to her and picked her up, shoving her face into his shoulder.

He numbly heard her say that the other one had gotten away before deciding to get her to Emily's, fast. Fang looked broken and it looked like he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. But if there was another one out there then Seth couldn't just leave him.

His problem was solved when Jasper appeared at the edge of the trees. He quickly doubled over at the devastation and grief coming from Fang and his face crumpled in pain.

"I can't…I'm sorry," he choked out, before taking off back through the woods.

Seth understood completely. It was literally heart breaking to watch. He took off after Jasper, giving Fang some space to grieve while staying close enough to hear if anyone else approached. He met Sam and Edward racing towards them.

"What was that? What happened?" Sam inquired. Edward didn't need a translation. He winced at the images Seth couldn't stop from playing in his mind.

"Max is dead," Edward whispered. It was all the explanation anyone needed for the broken sounds coming from the house.

"Sera said there's still another man out there. Keep an eye out. I'm going to get her to Emily's," Seth informed them, hollow and numb.

"I'll get the rest of the Pack to follow you and surround the house," Sam called to Seth's back.

"My family will stay with Fang. We'll take care of the bodies too," Edward said, looking like he hated his life at the moment. Sam didn't envy what Edward and the others were about to do.

They left Fang holding Max until they had taken care of the other bodies. Noting their scents first in order to track the other. When the time came for them to separate him from her, he wouldn't let go.

Jasper sent a heavy mix of fatigue towards him and they waited until he went limp. Edward and Carlisle pulled him away and carried him inside while Emmett picked up Max's lifeless body, as carefully as if she were sleeping, and followed the rest of the family in. He laid her on the kitchen table while Rosalie covered her with a white sheet.

They were all choking against invisible tears for they all had loved Max. She was like another sister and daughter to them. Her air of invincibility promising a lifetime of her smiling face.

"You should wake him back up but keep him calm. We need to figure out where to go from here," Carlisle said quietly.

Jasper nodded and went into the living room where they had put Fang on the couch. The rest of the family stayed in the kitchen unable to leave Max alone.

A moment later Fang, looking red eyed and hollow, came walking in, his lifeless eyes glued to the floor. It took him a moment before he could speak again and his voice was raw and haggard.

"I want to burn her…and the house," he whispered, "I don't want to leave anything for them to dig up and put back together."

He couldn't keep his voice from breaking at the end and Esme let out a horrified sob at the thought of it.

"We'll build you a new home for you," Emmett exclaimed.

"No, we won't be staying," Fang announced before walking back outside, leaving the Cullens shocked.

"He wouldn't really leave, would he?" Bella asked softly.

"If that's what he wants, then we won't stop him. We have to consider Fang is used to leaving places at a moments notice and I don't think he would want to stay here after what's happened," Carlisle explained.

They smelled gasoline and went outside to find Fang had already started to pour the liquid around the house and up the sides. He looked cold and dead as he did it. As if this hadn't been his home for the past two years where his family had finally been happy.

The Cullens left the task to him, watching from the forest as he went inside and doused the rooms. He didn't pause to look at the figure lying on the table but quickly grabbed the matches and went back outside.

He stopped then, holding the match in his hand ready to light it. Looking up, he stared at what had been the only happiest and safest place he had ever lived before. He thought of Max smiling as she first laid eyes on the white two story house. The look in her eyes when they had taught Sera to fly by jumping off the roof, Fang ready to catch her if she couldn't. Her laugh as she spun and danced in the rain after their wedding night when they were only nineteen years old.

A tear crept slowly down his face. The first tear he had ever shed in grief since escaping from the School with Max.

"Good-bye, my love. I'll see you in a little while." And then he struck the match watching the small flame dance for a moment before throwing it through the back door. The house went up in flames and Fang watched as his world burn to the ground.

**This was the prequel. Shall I continue with Seraphina's Song?**


	3. Seraphina's Song ch 1

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Fang or Seth. Fang belongs to James Patterson. And Seth belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Please tell me what you think and where you'd like this story to go. I have the first four chapters already written. Reviews give me inspiration!**

Seraphina's Song

I don't remember much before the dark times. That's what I call the last sixteen years of my life anyway. My father tells me I was mischievous, in a good way; that I could make the coldest person smile warmly when they watched me tumble, dance, and flit around. But I can't ever remember being happy. I blame most of my misfortune and unhappiness on the monsters who killed my mother. The rest I blame on my father.

It was him who taught me how to hate them, to trust no one, to fight both honorably and dirty, to slip through the shadows like I was part of them. He also taught me the most important rule: never kill unless you have no other choice.

It was a little ironic. He wanted revenge for taking away the one and only person he could ever love and enjoy the world with and yet he wouldn't end their lives. He would only make them miserable. Whenever they found us, we would always leave them wounded or unconscious. And when we found them, we would leave them broken.

I would linger sometimes before spreading my midnight black wings, wondering why my father refused to end his pain and therefore my suffering. I could never bring myself to leave him, and so I was stuck following his plans for revenge.

Because I may not remember the times when I could dance barefoot in the rain without a care in the world, but I do remember the exact moment it ended.

_I had listened to the dead silence after that fatal explosion and with growing panic crept out of my hiding place to find the one I desperately needed to see in one piece. I had stumbled my way through bodies strewn across our backyard and the next thing I knew I had found my way to her. I sat on the bloodied grass and held her hand until my father arrived, numb with disbelief with what was happening around me on one of the rare and sun shiny days._

_It was the sound that made me realize he had finally come back. The sound that had haunted my dreams and nightmares ever since. My father was clutching her in a grip like that of a drowning man making that sound as if he were screaming 'NO' and whispering 'please' at the same time. The moan it brought made me shake with suppressed tears. He had sounded so broken and lost that my once happy world decided to shatter so completely that I would never find the pieces to put it back together again._

We never went back there, wherever that place was. Like I said, I couldn't remember much.

I was currently sitting crouched at the top of a building over looking the city night life. I had turned eighteen today and was planning on marking the occasion my own way.

My father was at the ranch we owned in Minnesota for the weekend meeting with a contact in the new organization tomorrow. I didn't mind being here alone. What I did mind, was being left out of the action. I knew if our contact had solid information that my father would infiltrate one of the organizations without me—again.

I guess my father liked to be alone these days, too. But he needed someone to watch his back from time to time.

I stood up, determined to leave all thoughts of loneliness behind and stepped off the edge. There was an abandoned construction site on one side and I used the area as cover for the stunts I liked to pull. I didn't need my wings for this maneuver. Like most mutant hybrids, I had a 'super' power. Psychokinesis. The ability to move things with my mind.

I slowed the speed of my fall by concentrating and pushing the air up beneath me. Enough so, that I landed with barely a sound and headed off in the direction of the night club I went to on occasion. The crowd never had anyone over twenty-one since the owner, Angel Michaels, banned any alcoholic beverages from his place.

That's why I liked going to Angel's, which also happened to be the name of the place. And yes, I realize the irony in that too. It wasn't a place where druggies and creeps were allowed but a place, more like a safe haven, for kids who just needed to get away for awhile.

I want to get one thing straight first. My father and I are not on the run like my mother and he were before. We're more like hunters, of the monster type. Zachary had created enough followers to create organizations close enough to that of the mafia type. Except these monsters could actually become the real creepy crawlies children imagined in their nightmares.

The scientists who created the experiments before are all gone, but their notes and samples still remain and Zachary's been able to successfully make more genetic hybrids. Not to mention get himself involved in drug running, slave trafficking, and mercenary work of the assassination variety.

My father and I are working to stop him. And we're not alone. We have contacts, both friendly and those bribed—hybrids that we've helped release and create lives for themselves. We even have a couple of feds on our side.

It's like an underground revolution working to bring down the monsters that no one else can see. It got frustrating at times when we spent months tracking a target to have them disappear, but other than that it was worth it. We've saved so many lives that would have been tortured and killed. But I couldn't help thinking if this job was worth entire life.

It's not like I needed schooling, I'm smart just like my parents. Well, smart enough. And we get enough money coming in that I don't need a day job to keep us fed. Don't ask me how we get it, just know that it's for a good cause. Denial works wonders for me sometimes. But I lived from one job to the next and I trusted only three people.

Walking down the empty back streets of a city is calming sometimes. I get to watch the steam rise out of the gutters, listen to the distant traffic, and feel the night air reassure me that I could take on any idiot who thought he could get some kicks messing with some teenage girl. But it seemed tonight would be different and knew the second my phone rang that my fun happy birthday evening wasn't going to happen.

Sighing in resignation, I stopped and stepped into the entranceway of an alley.

"Seraphina Ride, psychic bird kid who just lost her night of dancing euphorically." Well wasn't I in a good mood. Not.

"Take your attitude out on the dogs. We've got movement at ground 2." A deep voice ordered.

"Rescue mission?" Immediately sobering, I switched from passive rebel to active soldier in a heartbeat.

"Make sure you're dressed. Lily and Tyler are coming too."

"Ten minutes, Seth."

"You've got seven." Click.

I grinned as I started running, knowing they wouldn't dare make a move without me if they could help it. I was the best of the four of us in a fight (my father didn't count).

Seth was one of my dad's friends who followed us wherever we went, giving us help where we needed it. He was like me in the way that he was born from two hybrids. At least, I've never been corrected, but I knew he didn't grow up in a cage. He was so different from the genetic wolves that he seemed like a completely different species. Like he was a true wolf.

I kept a quick pace in the direction of the site where information had led us to believe the organization was holding slaves and experiments until they needed to use them, for whatever reason.

A rescue mission meant allowing our presence in the city to finally be known by kicking some dog hindes and busting out the intended prisoner.

If there was movement noted, then either a slave was about to become dog meat or an experiment was going to be terminated. Either way the intended end wasn't going to be so bright for the victim.

I quickly used the changing room in one of the open shopping outlets. I slipped out of my rockin' dance outfit and into some black boots, black jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, and black gloves with a black hood. My eyes didn't even show. All in all I looked like the stereotypical ninja.

You really have to hand it to those guys, they certainly knew how to make themselves invisible at night, not to mention hide their identities well.

I slipped out the back so as not to attract attention and took off from the darkened ally into the night sky.

Ground 2 was three 'abandoned' buildings on the outskirts of town. A twelve-foot barbed wire fence bordered the surrounding area with some shrub climbing on parts to keep up appearance of disuse. But surveillance had caught motorcades coming and going at random intervals so we were positive someone was being held there.

We were also positive that they didn't use any cameras for security; only those mutant dogs to patrol every once in a while. Sort of arrogant of them, actually.

I landed on the building's roof adjacent to our mark with nothing but a whisper as I tucked my wings back in. Two figures were crouched at the edge keeping watch and I silently joined them.

Lily was only thirteen with hair as pale gold as the first light of the sun and eyes to match. She was the most recent addition to our little family and the most protected. She hated fighting, or any confrontation for that matter, but she was useful when it came to gathering information and assessing a situation. She could tell if someone was lying or not, if someone was going to turn right or left, if a bomb would go off before we opened a door. It wasn't exactly mind reading or visions. In fact, we didn't really know how her power worked but she's saved our lives in the past, so we didn't pester her about it.

She gave a slight nod of her head and handed me an earpiece out of her pocket. Her hands were small, just like the rest of her, and so pale that she almost glowed in the dark. I tapped them and she gave a sheepish smile before slipping her gloves and hood on.

Tyler sat next to her, steadily watching the doors two stories below. He was fifteen and the closest thing Lily had to a big brother. His disheveled brown hair had fallen across his ice blue eyes again.

It seemed to suit his power well. He could cool the water in the air to a point where he could actually create solid ice. Like that X-men kid, except he didn't need to hold out his hand and concentrate hard at all. When we had rescued Lily, he was the one to carry her all the way home. I guess his protective instincts toward her started then. He's never really left her side since.

It was only five minutes of motionless boredom until Seth's voice came over the earpiece. I thought it was kinda cool having someone talk in your head, but I thought all things out of the norm were awesome.

"Everyone ready?" Seth asked.

"Ready, waiting, and yet waiting some more. Be there in seven minutes." I softly mocked, allowing the mike on my neck to pick up the sound.

"Yeah, but you're not late now are you?" Before I could come up with yet another comeback, which I'm sure would have been fabulously inappropriate, he cut me off, "I'm going to trip the alarm, when the guards look like they're all out, make your move. You're going to have _seconds_, Sera, before they realize what's happened and lock the place down. Two minutes, and then I want everyone fifty yards from here, got it?"

"Affirmative," Lily replied quickly.

"Got it, Boss." Tyler, suck up.

"Two minutes? Last time it was three?!" How does he expect me to get in there and rescue someone and be gone in two minutes?!

"If you can't do it, then I will," Seth said in that infuriatingly smug voice of his.

Gritting my teeth, I told him what he could do with that attitude of his and proceeded to jump the roof of the building we had been watching and ran for the nearest skylight. He never did say anything about going through the front door, I thought with a grin.

Seconds later a shrill alarm pierced the air and dogs were busting out of rooms and out the doors looking around for the source of invasion. I jumped forward and inevitably crashed through the glass, landing and taking off at a run down the hall and around the corner before the showering glass could finish making a racket against the floor.

The buildings were easy enough to figure out, which we had done previously, and I made my way to the cage sitting in the middle of an inner room in no time at all. There was always one in every building. I guess the organization didn't want a revolt or something to break out and overpower their guards, which goes to say how horribly easy they could be to take down if you weren't alone.

I expected the figure to be small and huddled to one side in fright, or unconscious. The boy was neither. He sat looking ready to spring with alert and lucid eyes flickering back and forth. I didn't have time to think about it as I ran up to the front where he could see me. I inspected the lock and decided I didn't have time to get the picks out of my pocket.

I closed my eyes and put my hand over the lock. I could see the inside mechanism in my head. Not a clear picture but like a presence, like I became part of the lock for one moment and saw the key. It snapped into place and I quickly pulled the door open.

Fatigue washed over me and left me staggering as I went to get up and out of the boy's way. Using my 'gift' on industrial things versus natural forces always seemed to take more energy out of me.

The wave of dizziness passed quickly and I straightened up, only to be met with the deepest green eyes I had ever seen. They were almost like emeralds. What I took at first to be a boy turned out to actually be a young man. A little older than me, actually.

I took a step back in surprise and trepidation. He was taller and bigger than I was. His hair was black and it fell into his eyes slightly. His skin was a caramel brown but it looked smooth enough to be marble.

But it was the way he held himself that sent my heart racing. It was like the way a predator would stand, still as stone in that last second before it would move lightning fast and have its prey with a broken neck in its mouth the next.

I didn't move. Some part of by brain was telling me to make a break for it, fight my way past him, but it wasn't loud enough and the other part was saying if you don't move he won't get you.

But it didn't last. Seth's voice came loud and urgent out of the earpiece and in the silence of our frozen moment his voice could be heard throughout the room.

"Styx! Styx, where the hell are you? Get out of there! Get out of there, NOW! They've got Trackers!"

The mention of Trackers sent my head turning toward the entrance in more fear than I had felt a moment before. I had only encountered a Tracker once and I never wanted to repeat that experience.

The second I took my eyes off of _him_ though, I found myself pinned to the wall behind me and then he spoke.

"If you think I'm going to fall for this trick, too, then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. Now, you have two seconds before I break your neck," see I told you, "to answer my questions. Who are you?"

I didn't waste any time, I knew Seth would be able to hear me and come back no matter what the situation, but my anger had been rekindled and this guy was seriously starting to tick me off.

"Styx and I have no idea what you're talking about. We came here to break you out and if you don't let me go I'm gonna have to break your pretty nose. And then we're gonna have to start running before we get the wonderful chance to die very slowly." I said quite sweetly.

He looked at me then and I think my sarcastic hysteria allowed him to catch on to the fact that I wasn't the danger waiting to torture him.

He let me go and stepped back. But only a step. I kept myself pressed against the wall and looked at him warily before talking again.

"Boss, we're moving out, turn back. I'm not in danger anymore, _turn back_!" I bit out.

"You're not even out of the building yet!" He was angry but I could hear the hint of desperate worry in his voice.

"Just get to Ice and Petals. They're going to need you." I turned the mike and earpiece off. We never used our names during a mission. Less chance of Zachary finding out which part of the world we were staying in.

Emerald eyes watched me curiously.

"All right, we're gonna have to move fast. Follow me." And I took off without waiting to see if he would follow or not. Honestly, if the guy was gonna be so rude to his rescuers he could stay and get eaten for all I cared.

**Soooo! What did you think? Please, you don't even have to type an entire sentence, just say good or bad. Although, sentences are preferred.**


End file.
